Ford Puma ST

It was welcomed with high hopes, but our Puma ST remained in the shadow of its Fiesta sibling

- Sam Jenkins

A YEAR AND 12,000 MILES AFTER WE took delivery, time is up for the Fast Fleet Puma ST. During that time Ford's performance crossover has been an intriguing presence in our line-up of long-termers, which is exactly why we wanted to run one: to find out how much appeal a car of this kind has for people like us.

To get as many different opinions as possible, our Puma changed hands a fair number of times in the year we had it, but it started in mine. With the Jenkins household also in possession of a Mk8 Fiesta ST at the time, it made for a fascinating comparison. Based on the same underpinnings as its hatchback sibling, the Puma's numbers are near-identical, but a 78kg weight disadvantage, higher centre of gravity and tweaked chassis set-up remove some of the Fiesta's playful edge. Nevertheless, a more practical crossover that can offer at least some of the Fiesta ST's thrills is surely a proposition worth exploring.

Open the door, slide into the well-bolstered Ford Performance seat and it's Fiesta all over. While positive in some aspects, the increase in cabin space you'd anticipate from the crossover over its hatchback relative proved not quite as pronounced as we'd hoped. What the Puma does gain is a larger boot and a nifty 80-litre 'MegaBox' compartment under its floor, offering useful storage capacity the Fiesta simply can't muster.